The Clinical Measurement of Sensory Functioning in Infants:

A 24-item test entitled the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants was developed to measure sensory processing and reactivity in infants. It focused on evaluation of responses to tactile deep-pressure, visual-tactile integration, adaptive motor, ocular motor, and reactivity to vesicular stimulation. Data were collected on 196 normal, 27 developmentally delayed, and 27 different temperament infants from 4 to 18 months of age. The psychometric quality of the test was investigated in terms of domain validity, construct validity, and interobserver reliability. The findings were that: (1) the items and subtests validly measure the domain of sensory functioning in infants, (2) the total test scores can be used reliably and validly for screening decisions, particularly fro 7- to 18 month-old infants, and (3) the five subtests can be used reliably and validly for guiding clinical decisions for infants with delays or difficult temperament and 10 to 18 months of age. The reactivity to tactile deep-pressure and reactivity to vestibular stimulation subtests were the only two suited for the 4- to 6- age group. These findings should be regarded as tentative until longitudinal cross-validation studies and research on decision reliability and test-retest stability have been conducted.